Live-stock feeder.



R. HENDERSON.

LIVE STOCK FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6| I914.

Patented May11,1915

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

W wwwm R. HENDERSON.

LIVE STOCK, FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. e. 19x4.

I 1,138,950e Patented May 11, 1915.

2 $HEETS-SHEET 2.

RAY HENDERSON, or Income, ILLINOIS.

LIVESTOCK FEEDER.

Speciiicatipn-of letters Patent.

Patented May 11, 1915.

Application filed Harch'G, 1914'. Serial No. 823,003.

'nally so as to discharge feed therefrom into the trough, thus enablingthe auto be filled at a silo or crib and to be employed for readilydistributing the feed to the trough as the car travels'along the sameand thus avoid handling the feed manually and enabling a large number ofanimals to be very readily and quickly fed, the invention consisting inthe construction, combination and arrangement of devices hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings :-.Figure 1 is an elevation of a live stockfeeding car constructed in accordance with my invention and showing thesame arranged in operative position on a feed trough. Fig. 2 is avertical transverse sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a verticallongitudinal sectional view of the same. Figs. 4 and 5 are detailsections on the planes indicated by the lines au and bb of Fig. 2. i

In the embodiment of my invention I provide a feed trough 1, which inpractice is of considerable length and is preferably supported at asuitable distance above the ground by means of. posts 2. The trough runsfrom a silo or crib such as indicated at 3 and the trough is preferablyslightly inclined so that the end thereof farthest from the silo orcrib' is lower than at the opposite end. On the sides of the trough aretrack rails 4. A feed car 5 is also provided the front and rear wheels 6and 7 of which are flanged and arranged to operate on the track rail-son the sides of the trough. The front wheels 6 have an axle shaft 8which revolves therewith and this axleshaft is provided with a pinion 9which is splined on the shaft for rotation therewith and forlongitudinal movement thereon. The body or box 10\of the car is providedwith inclined downwardly converging sides 11 and ends 1213. The bottomof the car is formed by a slide 14 which is.

movable longitudinally and hence may be opened and closed. This slidingbottom has its sides engaged with guides 15 in opposite sides of thebase frame 16 of the car and the said sliding bottom is provided on itsunder side with a longitudinally arranged rack bar 17 for engagement bythe shiftable pinion 9. A bell crank 19 is pivotally mounted as at 20and has a shifter arm 21 which engages an annular groove 22 in theextended hit of the pinion 9 and the other arm of the said bell crank isconnected by a rod 23 to a lever 24 which is pivotally mounted as at 25on one side of the car and near the rear end thereof. At the rear end ofthe car is a step or platform 26 for the operator to stand upon. Asupporting frame 27 is arranged at the front end of the car and isprovided with a supporting roller 28 to bear under and support thesliding car bottom when the same is moved forwardly. Brakes 29 areprovided for the rear car wheels and are connected by a rod 30 to a handlever .31, which is pivotally mounted as at 32 on one side of the car,at

its rear end, and the said hand lever is provided with a dog 33 which isfor engagement with a segment rack 34' to lock the brakes either inreleased or applied position.

The operation of my improved stock feeder is as follows :Let it beassumed that the car is at the higher end of the track onthe trough andthat the sliding-bottom is in closed position. The car will be thenfilled with feed from the silo or crib and theoperator who steps uponthe platform or step 26 will release the brakes and the car will then,by gravity, run along the track on the upper side of the trough. Whenthe car reaches the point where it is desired to begin the distributionof the feed, the operator by means of the lever 24, will shift thepinion 9 into engagement with the rack bar 17. As the car proceeds thispinion coacts with the rack bar to move the slidable bottom of the carforwardly, as will be understood, and as the bottom of the car, movesforwardly the feed in the car will drop therefromin rear of theslidable-bottom and into the trough and hence will be evenly distributedin the trough as will be understood. As the slidable'bottom movesforwardly it becomes engaged with and supported by the roller 28. Whenthe said feed has been thus discharged and dis 'tributed from the carthe operator backs the car to the crib or silo and thus causes thepinion 9 and the rack bar 17 to return the sliding bottom to itsoriginal, closed position as will be understood. By shifting the pinioninto or out of engagement with the rack bar 17 the operation of thesliding bottgm of the car may be controlled as desire I -Iaving thusdescribed my invention, I

A stock feeding car having a longitudinally movable bottom, a rack baron the bottom of the car, an axle shaft, a pinion mounted on said shaftfor rotation there- 15 wlth and for movement longitudinally thereon sothat said pinion may be engaged 'with or disengaged from said rack bar,a

